Display apparatus



April 4, 1939. s sc c ET AL 2,153,346

D I S PLAY APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS,

April 1939- s. E. SCACE ET AL 2,153,346

DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1938 I 2 SheetsShee1-, 2

3o a] Z6 Z7 6 A A/Mr IN VENTORS Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES 2,153,346 DISPLAY APPARATUS Steven E. Sca'ce and 'William B. S'cace,

- Chicago, 111.

Application January 14, 1938, Serial No. 184,958

has for its object: first, to provide a novel and attractive display which will attract attention,

and second, to provide a display, the face of which can be changed easily and quickly.

The invention concerns display apparatus and the like of the type comprising a face or base and a plurality of rotatable display elements associated with it carrying all or part of the matter to be displayed. Heretofore, with display apparatus of this type, the face or base and rotatable display elements have been made an integral part of the apparatus and it has been necessary to paint, draw, stamp or otherwise affix' the matter to be displayed directly upon said face or base. This made the changing of display matter upon the apparatus a difiicult and costly procedure. According to the present invention, the face or base and the rotatable display elements are made from the poster, bill, card, placard, sign, and the like which is to be actuated and upon which the matter to be displayed has been printed, lithographed, painted, carved, embossed, engraved, or otherwise impressed.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustration only, and in no way intended to limit the'scope of the invention, an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in the several views of which like parts are designated by similar characters and, in which- Figure 1 is an isometric view of the front of a display apparatus according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a section on an enlarged scale on theline 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of a display apparatus according to the invention, and

Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3 with certain elements thereof removed.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, a poster to be actuated l, with circular sections 3 removed therefrom as illustrated, is affixed to a framework 4. Corresponding circular sections 5, somewhat larger than said removed sections 3, are cut from another and identical poster and are so placed behind the correspondmg openings in poster l and in intelligible register therewith, that they, in combination with said poster .I, present an appearance similar to that of said poster before the aforesaid sections were removed therefrom. A circular disk 1 (see 5 also Figure 4) is centered behind each circular section? and affixed thereto. A crankshaft 6 is attached to the center of each disk I by means of a pin 8 which runsthrough a hole 9 in the terminal ,of said crankshaft ii and rests in a slot 10 H) in the face of said disk I. Each crankshaft 6 runs through a bushing ll in cross member 12 (see also Figures 3 and l). A crank pin I3 is rotated around each crankshaft 6 by means of a crank plate [4 (see also Figures 3 and fl) 15 which engages all of said crank pins 13 and movesin a circulatory motion ina radius equal to .the length of the crank webs I5 thereby causing all of said crank pins I3 to rotateabout their respective crankshafts andcausing also the rotation of the aforesaid disks 1. Intermittent circulatory motion is given crank plate M by the rotation of worm gear l6 Figures 2 and 3.

Worm gear Iii engages crank plate I I by means of a pin 11, Figures 2 and 3, fastened to said worm gear iii a distance from the center of said worm gear equal to the length of the crank webs l5, said pin l1 running in bushed bearing l8 in the aforesaid crank plate I 4. In order that the aforementioned worm gear [6 may pause once eachrotation and thus impart an intermittent circulatory motion to the crank plate M, the following construction has been used.

Referring to Figure 3, dotted lines I9, 20, and 2! delineate segment 23 which has been removed from the circumference of worm gear I 6. Another segment 24, having the same radius'and other gear characteristics as said removed segment, but having a larger arc, is pivoted at the center 25 of worm gear I6 and so placed adjacent 40 that it is free to move a plane parallel to the plane of motion of said wormgear as the aforesaid worm gear moves in the direction indicated in Figure 3. As worm gear lli rotates, pin 26 engages segment 24, causing said see,- ment to move with the aforesaid worm gear It. When that part of worm gear I6 from which segment 23 has been removed reaches a point nearest worm 21, motion of said worm gear ceases and segment 24, having been carried around in its rotation with worm gear l6 by pin 26, engages with worm 21 and continues its rotation. Worm gear l6 remains stopped until the rotation of segment 24 causes said segment to engage pin 28 at which point worm gear 16 is forced to continue its rotation with segment 24. When segment 24 is engaged with either pin 26 or pin 28,

' segment 24 simultaneously at those overlapping points. When segment 24, in its rotation, passes worm 21 a sufficient distance, spring 29 forces the aforesaid segment to reengage pin 26. Worm 21 is driven by an electric motor 30 through a shaft 3|.

We are aware that prior to our invention display apparatus have been made with stationary display sections and rotatable display sections. We therefore do not claim such a combination broadly, but

We claim:

1. In a display apparatus having a continuous display front made up of stationary display sections and rotatable display sections, the combination of a plurality of said rotatable display sections each of said rotatable display sections mounted on a shaft, a hole through said shaft parallel to the plane of rotation of said shaft and perpendicular to its length, a pin longer than the diameter of said shaft, said pin reposing in the said hole in said shaft, a recession in the face of each aforesaid rotatable display section in which the ends of the aforesaid pin repose and driving means for rotating said rotatable display sections.

2. In a display apparatus having a continuous display front made up of stationary display and rotatable display sections, the combination of a plurality of said rotatable display sections, each of said rotatable display sections being mounted on the crank shaft of a crank, the crank pin of said crank engaging a crank plate,

- said crank plate engaging all of the plurality of crank pins aforementioned and moving in a circulatory motion in a plane parallel to the plane of the crank webs of the aforesaid crank shafts, the radius of said circulatory motion being equal to the length of the webs of the aforesaid crank shafts, said circulatory motion being imparted to each of the plurality of aforesaid cranks through the crank pins of each and causing each of the aforementioned rotatable display sections to rotate and driving means. for driving said crank plate.

3. In a display apparatus having stationary sections and movable sections said movable sections pausing at intervals in their motion, the combination of a drive gear being driven by the power mechanism of said display apparatus and a driven gear transmitting the motion of said drive gear to the movable sections of the aforesaid display apparatus, said driven gear having a segment removed from its circumference, another segment having the same radius and similar gear characteristics as the said driven gear and having an are larger than the arc of the 5 aforesaid removed segment being centered on the shaft upon which said driven gear is centered in such a manner that the arc of said segment coincides with the circumference of said driven gear, said segment being free to move only in a plane parallel to the plane of motion of the said driven gear, said segment being so placed on the said shaft adjacent to said driven gear that said segment rotates with said driven gear, a stop afiixed to said driven gear in such a manner that when the portion of said driven gear from which the aforementioned segment has been removed, reaches a point of engagement with the aforementioned drive gear and the rotation of the said driven gear ceased said added segment continues its rotation being engaged with said drive gear the face of said drive gear being sufliciently large to engage both the driven gear and the said added segment simultaneously, the aforesaid stop engages the said added segment causing the said driven gear to continue its rotation with the said added segment, a spring to cause said added segment to return to its original position and a stop to hold said added segment in its original relative position with said driven gear until said driven gear rotates to such a position that its removed section from which the aforementioned segment has been removed again engages the aforesaid driver gear.

4. In a display apparatus having a plurality of rotatable display elements, in combination with said pluralityof rotatable display elements, a plurality of cranks, equal in number to said plurality of display elements, each of said cranks engaging each of said display elements, and a crank plate engaging each of said cranks at a point on said crank plate which bears the same spaced relationship to every other point of engagement on said crank plate as each of the crank shafts of the aforesaid cranks bears to every other crank shaft of the aforesaid cranks, so that an interrupted circulatory motion imparted to the crank plate aforesaid is transmitted to each of the aforesaid plurality of rotatable display elements.

5. The combination of a crank plate as described in claim 4 with driving means whereby a circulatory motion is imparted to said crank plate.

6. In a display apparatus of the type described,

the combination of a drive gear, a driven gear having teeth removed from a section thereof, a gear segment having the same radius and similar gear characteristics as the said driven gear and movably engaged in juxtaposition with said driven gear, a stop limiting the motion of'the aforesaid segment relative to said driven gear, and means to return said segment to a given position relative to said driven gear when, through engagement with the aforesaid drive gear it has been caused to move therefrom.

'7. The combination described in claim 6 and driving means.

STEVEN E. SCACE. WILLIAM B. SCACE. 

